Stranded
by Jules
Summary: A remake of the Tropical Temptations storyline,Phloe style
1. Crash Into Me

Stranded  
  
  
  
Flopping down on her bed, Chloe laid staring at the ceiling. A pale white shadow, there was really nothing to see. Her room was dark, not surprising considering the time of the night it was. Soft moonlight lit the window. Turning her head to the side, a tear trickled down past her cheek onto the soft, white pillow. The house was dead silent, except for the light rustling of the leaves in the tree outside her window. A cool breeze came through the open window, and Chloe blinked open her eyes. Outside the sky was a beautiful mixture of black and tiny, bright stars.  
  
Instantly she thought of the one person she couldn't get off her mind. Lately everything reminded her of Philip and it was driving her crazy. So many sleepless nights, so many times she just laid in the same spot missing him so badly it hurt.  
  
They'd only been broken up awhile but she loved him and she knew he truly loved her.  
  
"I'm pathetic" Chloe moaned sadly.  
  
Nervousness also didn't help her insomnia that night. It was only a few hours until she boarded the plane for her school trip to the island for the summer. Going on that plane meant she wouldn't see Philip for the whole summer, two months without him.  
  
Closing her eyes, Chloe dreamed of all the good times they had together. The ice canal, the stables, under her window Philip singing to her. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.  
  
"Chloe," Nancy sang, peeking her head in the door "It's time to get up Chloe, you only have an hour until Belle and her brother pick you up"  
  
An eye peered out from under the comforter "Ugh I don't want to get up, I'm too tired"  
  
Nancy frowned and shook her head "Well you have to dear, you promised your friends and besides it'll be fun"  
  
Chloe moaned "Yeah sure, fun"  
  
Closing the door, a small smile crept across Nancy's lips "Might I say the added bonus of being far, far away from Philip Kiriakis"  
  
Inside, Chloe turned on her side and picked up the picture of Philip on her nightstand. Bringing it close to her heart, Chloe sighed "Goodbye Philip, whether you know it or not I really will miss you"  
  
Two hours later, Chloe and Belle were waving goodbye to Brady as they ran to the plane. Once they were inside, Belle walked back to sit with Shawn as Chloe struggled to put her bag in the overhead compartment.  
  
"Let me help you with that," came a familiar voice from behind her.  
  
Chloe turned her head, only to see the one person she dreaded seeing.  
  
"Philip, what-" Chloe exclaimed with shock "What are you doing here, I thought-"  
  
"Belle how could you?" Chloe cried, turning to her friend "You said he wasn't coming"  
  
Philip saw the hurt in Chloe's eyes and instantly felt awful "I'm sorry Chloe, it's not Belle's fault I told her I wasn't...I lied"  
  
Looking back and forth Chloe struggled to decide her next move. Her mind told her to bolt to the door, to escape a summer with Philip...the pain. Her heart begged for her to stay, to try to work things out. . Maybe to love him.  
  
Frozen, Chloe bit her lip in confusion. "I-I...I need to be alone"  
  
Slowly making her way to the back of the plane, Chloe found a seat far away from everyone and curled up looking out the window. Belle and Philip exchange a worried look, then made their way back to where Shawn was.  
  
Secretly Philip was glad Chloe had decided to stay, but he kept it to himself as he watched the clouds float by out the window.  
  
Awhile later it was starting to get darker. A lot of people on the plane had fallen asleep from the long trip. Philip slept leaning against his pillow, Belle fell asleep on Shawn's shoulder and Shawn against the headrest. Chloe was the only on awake, despite the fact that she was exusted from an almost sleepless night before she couldn't stop thinking about Philip. Across the isle, she watched him sleep.  
  
Sure, she was still mad at him for coming after he said he wouldn't but she still loved him.  
  
"I probably will never be able to tell you" Chloe whispered to herself "Philip, I love you"  
  
Suddenly the plane shook, throwing Chloe's head forward. Quickly she reached her arms out to stop from hitting the seat in front of her. Her seat belt hadn't been on since the plane had stabilized; they were told they could take them off. Another jolt, and suddenly Chloe found herself on the floor of the isle. Everyone was screaming as a loud boom came from the back of the plane. Oxygen masks fell from the overhead and kids scrambled to put them on. Everyone was panicking, but Chloe struggled just to get herself off the floor.  
  
As she lifted herself up, the plane was losing altitude and she fell again. Suddenly she felt nauseous and very scared, she struggled to catch her breath. Relief came as she felt a hand on her arm, pulling her to her feet and into the seat next to her. Then an oxygen mask was brought to her hand, looking through squinted eyes, Chloe realized Philip was the one who had helped her.  
  
Fear, it was the only word to describe the look in her eyes. Putting on his own oxygen, Philip reached down and took Chloe's hand in his. With a squeeze, he looked into her eyes, trying to tell her it was going to be okay.  
  
Behind them Belle was in shock, Shawn wrapped his arm around her and leaned his head on hers.  
  
It was only a few seconds later and the plane crashed into the ocean. The impact was incredible, and the inside of the plane began slowly filling with water. Mr. Woods told everyone to stay calm, although he looked terrified himself. Running over to the emergency door, he grabbed a couple inflatable rafts. Mrs. Perez helped, by getting the rest and instructing the class to put on their life jackets.  
  
"Under your seats there is a life jacket located for everyone, please put them on and stay seated"  
  
People were screaming, some were crying.  
  
"Is everyone alright, is anyone hurt?" Mr. Woods asked quickly.  
  
A rush of yes, and okay's came from the kids.  
  
"Alright this is very important so please listen carefully," he continued "Okay when I open this door the plane is going to fill with water quickly so I need you all to hold someone's hand and make sure you don't let go"  
  
"We don't have much time so when I say so get ready to swim to the top, make sure you don't let go of your buddy.. Its the only way we can be sure everyone will be alright and accounted for"  
  
Everyone began pairing off and putting on their life jackets. Shawn took Belle's hand, Philip held onto Chloe's tightly, Mimi and Kevin went together, Susan with Penelope, Jan with Jason.. Everyone had a partner. Mr. Woods and Mrs. Perez stood at the emergency exit door as everyone lined up in the isle.  
  
"Alright is everyone ready?" Mr. Woods asked firmly.  
  
The kids nodded, mumbling amusnt themselves.  
  
"On the count of three hold tight and swim as hard as you can"  
  
"One.......two........three"  
  
Quickly the plane filled with water and the students in the class jumped from the door, swimming out.  
  
Mr. Woods and Mrs. Perez got to the top first and opened up the lifeboats. The boats were big, bright yellow and held about six people per boat. There were five boats all together, and luckily less than twenty-five people in the group. After a few seconds, heads began to immerge and kids struggled to get into the boats.  
  
The water was cold, like ice and it was windy. Waves crashed high and it began to rain hard. Mr. Woods, and Mrs. Perez helped kids into the boats. It was hard to see, as the rain came down hard. The storm made it even harder, waves crashing into each other.  
  
"Is everyone here?" Mr. Woods asked tying the boats together "Is anyone missing?"  
  
"Everyone's here Mr. Woods" Jason replied counting heads "At least I think, its hard to see"  
  
"Wait where's Philip and Chloe?" Belle replied with panic "I don't see them"  
  
"Philip, Chloe!" Mr. Woods called out "Philip, and Chloe are you there?!?"  
  
When no answer came, Belle began to cry "Oh god, oh god where are they Shawn?"  
  
Shawn wiped the rain from his face and tried to shield his eyes with his hand, searching the water. After a minute he swallowed hard, and looked down unable to meet Belle's eyes as he replied.  
  
"I don't know Belle, I don't..I don't see them"  
  
Belle sobbed, "They're not dead, we have to find them"  
  
Mr. Woods scanned the water surrounding them "I don't understand, they were wearing life jackets weren't they? Unless..."  
  
"Unless what?" Belle and Shawn replied in panic  
  
"I'm afraid they might have been trapped in the plane" Mr. Woods replied shakily "I'm sorry...I'm really sorry"  
  
Silence filled the air as everyone sat in shock. The only noise that could be heard for the next hour was the rain splashing down and the waves crashing as the class sat huddled up and trying to keep warm.  
  
Tears ran down Belle and Shawn's cheeks, mixing with rainwater as they remembered their friends. An hour later a large boat came in their direction, they had been saved.  
  
As the class settled in on the coastguard boat, Shawn, Belle and Mimi sat in a corner in blankets silently watching the water move by beneath them.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
By morning, the class of Salem High students had boarded a plane for the return flight home. Everyone was weary, given the past days experience but in a few hours they were back in Salem, safe and sound.  
  
When the school broke the news to their parents,Mr & Mrs. Wesley and Mr. Kiriakis and Kate were all together in the principal's office together. Mr. Woods stood closely by explaining the events as the parents broke down.  
  
The news spread over school and Salem quickly. Philip Kiriakis and Chloe Lane had died in the plane crash. 


	2. Quicksand

Chapter 3  
  
Sun washed over her body, warmth over her legs then to her face. Something felt weird, she was warm but a chilling coldness crept up her body. As her eyes fluttered open, she noticed she was laying in sand. It was painful to move her neck, but she managed to look down. Surprisingly she was laying in water, small waves crashing on her legs.  
  
With a small scream she climbed to her knees. Her entire body ached like she'd been hit by a car. Turning she couldn't believe her eyes, she had no idea where she was and she began to freak out.  
  
Her heart beat fast as she began to run along the shore trying to make sense of it all. She was on an island, sure she knew that but how did she get there, and why was she alone.  
  
Suddenly her heart stopped, she wasn't alone. Someone was lying in the sand a few feet away. Her feet couldn't get her there fast enough as she stumbled into the sand beside him.  
  
His eyes slowly opened and he licked his lips as if he was thirsty. At first he looked at her as if she was a mirage or something, squinting in the bright sun. Then he jumped to his feet, wrapping her in his arms.  
  
"Chloe your alive" he exclaimed, his eyes watering  
  
She smiled back, hugging him tighter "Philip"  
  
Chapter 4  
  
   
  
"What happened Philip, why are we here?"  
  
Philip brushed the sand out of his hair, and looked around the beach. He winced as his arm throbbed and his body ached.  
  
"The plane crashed, we were on our way to the island for the ecology trip with Mr. Woods and our class," Philip replied, "You don't remember?"  
  
"I think I hit my head," Chloe exclaimed dropping down to sit in the sand "I don't remember anything after I fell in the plane"  
  
Philip sat down next to Chloe "Are you okay, I mean do you feel alright?"  
  
"I'm fine" Chloe replied with a warm smile "Rather than the fact that I feel like I've been hit by a bus, I'm alive"  
  
With a smile, Philip nodded.  
  
"How about you?" Chloe asked with concern "Are you alright?"  
  
Looking at her, Philip was surprised by how her eyes were filled with worry. It made his heart melt that Chloe cared about him so much even after everything that had happened.  
  
"God Philip what are we going to do?" Chloe exclaimed, breaking him out of his daze "Were stuck out here, stranded. and no one knows we're even here"  
  
Philip began to worry. Chloe was right, they had no one. Not to mention anything to eat or anywhere to live. And he certainly wasn't the outdoor type, hell who was he kidding he lived in a mansion and had servants all his life. How was he going to make it out here?  
  
"Oh my god," Chloe replied jumping to her feet "I just thought of something"  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Chloe paced back and forth, her feet sinking into the warm sand "They probably think were dead Philip, what if they stop searching for us because they think we died"  
  
Stopping in her tracks, Chloe's mouth dropped.  
  
"Oh my god we could die out here and no one would even know we were here at all"  
  
Philip sat looking up at her, squinting from the sun "We can't think like that Chloe...they won't stop looking for us, they love us"  
  
Chloe stepped back, remembering her situation with Philip.  
  
Noticing, Philip rubbed his temples "I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"  
  
"No that's fine" Chloe cut him off "Your right, worrying is useless at this point...were just going to have to figure something out"  
  
"What do you mean, a way to get home?" Philip asked with curiosity  
  
"Yeah or a way to get someone to know were here, a signal or something"  
  
Philip nodded, and got up to scan the beach "We should gather some wood and supplies before it gets dark and we can't see"  
  
"Alright but we don't have any matches, how are we going to start a fire?"  
  
Philip tried to think of something "Well we could trying using sticks..I saw that in a movie once...the guy rubbed two sticks together and a spark lit it up"  
  
"Okay that sounds good, I'll see if I can find us some fruit around here to eat and you can get the wood" Chloe replied becoming a little calmer "Hey Philip?"  
  
"Yeah?" Philip exclaimed turning around  
  
"About the crash, what happened after?"  
  
"Well I remember it was storming when we came up above the water and there were these enormous waves," Philip began "And I grabbed onto you so you wouldn't float away...the waves kept pushing us further away from everyone"  
  
He took another breath, and kept talking  
  
"I tried to call out to them but it was raining so hard and I kept going under the water from the waves," "You were unconscious, but you had on your life jacket.. We both did so we could stay above the water"  
  
Philip gulped "Then I could see the shoreline of an island getting closer..I mean we we're drifting closer to land, we washed up onto the sand I guess and then everything went black,"  
  
"I must have passed out from the shock too," Philip finished "All I saw before I closed my eyes was that you were okay and only a few feet away on the beach"  
  
"Wow," Chloe replied in awe "I can't believe we survived the crash..and we didn't freeze to death..the water must have been really cold"  
  
"Like ice," Philip exclaimed quickly  
  
"What about everyone else, where they okay?"  
  
"I think..I'm not sure, I didn't get a close look because the rain was blinding"  
  
"You think Shawn and Belle were okay?" Chloe asked quickly "I hope they are okay"  
  
"Me too" Philip replied sadly "But I'm sure they're okay., they are both good swimmers and neither would let anything happen to the other"  
  
"Yeah," Chloe said with a smile "Yeah I guess your right"  
  
Philip smiled back "Soon we'll be back in Salem and we'll tell them all about our wild adventure"  
  
"I hope so," Chloe replied "I really hope so"  
  
"Alright we better get to work" Philip exclaimed turning back around  
  
"Meet you back here in an hour?" Chloe asked.  
  
"An hour"  
  
As Philip walked away he kept trying to convince himself the situation wasn't as bad, or scary as it appeared. Soon enough they'd figure out a way to get home. They had to, he wasn't looking forward to the alternative, which could be anything…even the worse thing possible, starvation.  
  
No. He wouldn't let himself think that way,  
  
"First things first," he mumbled to himself "I need to find some wood for the fire and then we can build some kind of shelter incase it rains again" 


	3. Castaway

Chapter Five  
  
  
She'd wondered around the beach for what seemed like an eternity,but in reality was only an hour.  
Everything looked the same,Chloe realized she'd have to be careful not to get lost.  
The deeper into the woods you went,the thicker the trees became and it was getting dark.  
  
So far Chloe had gathered a bunch of bananas and two coconuts.  
  
"Well it's a start anyway," she mumbled to herself as she started to head back "Tomorrow we'll find more to eat but tonight this is just going to have to do"  
  
As she followed her footprints in the sand back she spotted Philip busily trying to set up shelter.  
It was then she noticed he had gotten a fire started next to it and tossed the fruit down.  
The shelter didn't look too bad,it would probably hold for the night if it rained.  
  
"Looks good," Chloe commented with a smile  
  
Wiping his hands together,Philip brushed off the sand and stood back to admire his handy work  
  
"It'll do," He replied shrugging "Tomorrow I'll try to build something more sturdy..not much time tonight though"  
  
"Hungry?" Chloe asked gesturing to the fruit "Sorry it isn't much but it's all I could find"  
  
"It looks delicious,after today I'd eat just about anything..I'm starving"  
  
"Me too," Chloe agreed picking up a coconut "But how are we going to get these open? I'm dying of thirst"  
  
Philip eyed the coconuts,then some rocks nearby.After a few failed attempts the coconuts finally split.  
Carefully lifting it,Philip offered the first to Chloe.  
  
"Thanks" she replied eagerly drinking the contents  
  
Settling down in the sand near the fire Philip drank his.  
Then they both sat in silence for the next few minutes eating their banana's and thinking to themselves.  
All of a sudden Philip jumped up in shock.  
  
"Philip,what's the matter?" Chloe asked with concern  
  
"Look," he replied simply pointing to the crashing waves down the shoreline  
  
"Oh my god" Chloe cried happily "I can't believe it"   
  
  
  
  
Chapter Six  
  
  
"Wow it's like a miracle or something," Philip exclaimed with a grin  
  
"Sure or just a stroke of good fortune," Chloe replied with a laugh "Which by the way was in desperate need as of late"  
  
Both stood there for a second in shock,then Chloe pulled him out of the daze "Come on lets check it out"  
  
Once they got to their destination,the pair knelt down over the item.  
Beneath them a black,plastic suitcase laid wedged in the sand covered by a strand of seaweed.  
Before Philip could unclasp it,Chloe suddenly screamed.  
  
"Look down there,it's another bag" she exclaimed jumping up to retrieve it  
  
Once she brought it over,Philip undid the metal holders and flipped it open.Inside the contents were visibly soaking wet,but still intact.  
An assortment of clothes,and a survival kit of sorts lay neatly inside.  
  
Philip read the signature on the travel tag "Property of Kevin Lambert"  
  
"It's times like this I'm thankful for Kevin's weird obsession with safety" Chloe replied with a laugh  
  
"My sentiments exactly" Philip grinned  
  
Chloe took it apon herself to unzip the duffle bag "The luggage from the plane must all be washing up,hopefully the rest will drift in the next couple of days"  
  
"That would be more than great"  
  
Opening Mimi's bag,Chloe rolled her eyes at the pile of clothes and makeup "And then there's Lockhart"  
  
"Good old Mimi" Philip laughed "Oh well were better off than before anyway"  
  
"That we are" Chloe lugged the bag back beside Philip "Well at least well be fashionable in paradise"  
  
Philip chuckled,then dropped the suitcase next to the fire.  
  
Chloe pulled a rope from inside,then tied it between two palm trees nearby "We can use this for drying the clothes for now"  
  
"Here I'll help you" Philip offered lifting a pile of dripping clothes from the bag.  
  
Chloe smiled gratefully as she pulled an emergency blanket from the survival kit.  
Philip flipped through the kit.Matches,bandages,a small ax..'could of come in handy before' he thought to himself ....a few energy bars,a small device for distilling water.  
  
"Wow there's a lot of useful stuff in here" Philip replied letting out a sigh "I don't feel so scared anymore"  
  
Adjusting the last item of clothing on the line,Chloe smiled "To be honest I'm still pretty scared Philip,but I do feel a little better now"  
  
"Good,I'm glad" Philip said with sincerity "Why don't we try to get some sleep now,we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow"  
  
"Great idea,I'm exhausted" Chloe replied with a yawn.  
  
"Lets see," Philip exclaimed digging around in the suitcase "Oh here it is"  
  
Pulling out a large,bright red flannel blanket,Philip tossed aside the plastic package it came in.  
  
"The emergency blanket" Philip stated unfolding it "Sorry there's only one..we'll have to share,are you okay with that?"  
  
"I'm fine," Chloe replied helping him lay it out under the shade of the makeshift shack "It's warm,clean..... I'm not complaining"  
  
Philip smiled back then settled in beside her.Before he knew it Chloe's breathing had evened out and she snored lightly beside him.  
His eyes felt heavy but he tried to stay awake as long as possible,he wasn't exactly comfortable with being in a strange place.Who knew who or what was out there.  
Chloe shivered beside him,so he wrapped his arm around her lightly to share body heat.Before he realized the sun was rising over the water and he was exhausted.  
  
It was nearly four hours later,probably five in the morning.Chloe's eyes were fluttering open,and she stretched out so he let go.  
Moving back a little,he closed his eyes for the first time and fell asleep.  
  
  
TBC... 


End file.
